The Astral Planes
In Litvantar, the Astral Planes are 7 planes of existence that are sources of rich amounts of magic. However, unlike astral planes as we know, these do not exist between earth and heaven - instead they co-exist with Litvantar. Sometimes the Astral Planes are collectively known as the Starworld, and is connected to Litvantar via the Astral Stream. Without the Astral Stream, Litvantar - which exists purely on magic - would be destroyed. What are the Planes? The Astral Planes are often considered the land between the dead and the living. Souls who have gone into a coma, or hang between life and death, wait in the Planes for their eventual verdict. Spirits of those who do not wish to go to either hell or heaven reside here, but must have a purpose to do so - this is usually to help those who are living. It is noted that Necromancy is the only magic that can pull these spirits out of the Astral Planes and into Litvantar for a short period of time. Any experienced Astral traveller, be it Astral Seeker or Planeswalker, will tell you that the Astral Planes are divided into three sections. The top three levels are known as the Celestial Planes. The next three are the Terra Spiritus, famous for having the strongest Astral Stream link with Litvantar. The last plane is called Oblivion and is where all demon spirits originate. Most Astral travellers tend to stick to the Terra Spiritus, generally because of several reasons: #Because of the strong Astral Stream link, the Terra Spiritus are the safest Astral Planes to visit. #The Terra Spiritus are the easiest planes to access. A new student with very little experience can step into a Terra Spiritus plane with little to no effort. #The spirits found in the Terra Spiritus are friendly, helpful and will help as much as their ethereal bodies allow it. Not as if the other plane spirits won't help, but that's for later. Highly advanced/master Planeswalkers and Astral Seekers can access the Celestial Planes and Oblivion, but generally they don't want to because #the spirits in the Celestial Planes are extremely powerful and extremely temperamental. Upsetting them is considered easier than entering the Terra Spiritus, and they hate helping people anyway. They tend to be snobbish. #the spirits in Oblivion always state a price in exchange for their help - and it may not be a price anyone likes. The demonic plane is also fairly dangerous. Only in dire times would anyone actually go and visit those planes - even then, it's still a last resort. Note: The Astral Stream flows through all the planes. This means that any spell that is cast, and every magician who has ever been initiated into magic and practised it, has a "signature aura" that can be tracked through the Astral Planes. Nothing can stop this; usually it's up to the person to try and block Astral Seekers with barrier spells if they don't want to be detected. Astral Wanderers Astral Wanderers are people who can visit the Astral Planes. There are two kinds of Astral Wanderers in Syrellia. Planeswalker Only those who have studied further than Deeper magic can be a Planeswalker. Planeswalkers tend to be able to communicate with spirits freely, and wander the spirit planes as much as they please without getting trapped. Some Planeswalkers even use the spirit planes to meditate and seek for knowledge as if they were in the real world. A common nickname for Planeswalkers amongst the less magically educated folk is "dimension travellers", although the Astral Planes are not considered actual dimensions. Naturally, only demon Planeswalkers step into Oblivion - since they know where they're going, and the dark nature of the last Plane doesn't unnerve them. Astral Seeker Otherwise known as Spiritfinders, Astral Seekers are inferior to Planeswalkers in that they cannot walk in any of the Planes. Their sole purpose is to locate the signature force of a spell or a magician, and track them down. Planeswalkers can't do this because they can't visit several Planes in one go - on the other hand, Astral Seekers can pass through them easily. Again, only demon Astral Seekers can access Oblivion for the same reason demon Planeswalkers are able to walk into the last plane. Notes While Planeswalkers are quite solid and retain their images as they are on Litvantar, Astral Seekers can shift shape. This means that Astral Seekers can't receive powers from spirits (because they're not solid and consistent), but they can change into other forms to facilitate their searches. Astral spirits don't take kindly to Astral Seekers, so usually the Seekers try to not be so conspicuous when they're in the Planes. As of now, the Kushalyur clan of the demons are the only natural-born Astral Seekers. This ability cannot be removed or breeded out of their lineage because their third eye (located on the forehead, vertically) is a part of their anatomy. Category:Lore